Over 20 property owners from Portsmouth and environs have gained new skills in customer relations after participating in a Customer service training workshop. The workshop which was conducted for four hours over the course of four evenings was organized by the Discover Dominica Authority in collaboration with the Dominica State College. The objective was to improve customer relationships between property owners and short-term visitors.

Following the departure of Ross University earlier this year, many property owners who depended heavily on the revenue from the school were left without their main source of income.

Speaking at the certificate presentation ceremony, CEO of the DDA Mr Colin Piper, acknowledged the bittersweet moment saying, “I know it’s a bittersweet time. We are here commending you on being trained but the reason you are being trained is because your way of life as you know it has been changed. But one thing to understand is that change is the only constant in life. And so, you need to be prepared for some of these things.”

Tourism Minister Senator Robert Tonge implored property owners to impart the knowledge they have gained during the workshop to their staff. “The most important part now is for you to take that information and bring it to your staff. Sometimes you hear even the staff who get trained at the Dominica State College you hear some of them say, ‘I’ve been to the state college and when I go back to the hotel to operate and I tell them the new things that I’ve done my manager or my boss, my supervisor doesn’t want to listen to what I have to say.’ So, I want to see you be open, listen to the new trends and make sure we try to implement them as much as possible.”

President of the Dominica State College Dr Donald Peters is optimistic about the future of the tourism industry. He encouraged participants to respect the culture and values of visitors while maintaining good service. “Respect people’s culture, respect their values and provide the service that you say you would do and finally in terms of the future of your industry, it is good. I’ve been appointed by the Prime Minister to work with him on finding new occupants to replace the university that left and I’m optimistic that that will happen.”